


I Just Want Your Extra Time (And Your... Kiss)

by fiddleyoumust



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance, Panic At The Disco
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-31
Updated: 2011-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-28 13:32:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiddleyoumust/pseuds/fiddleyoumust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Never Been Kissed AU with all of Bandom and a bag of chips.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Just Want Your Extra Time (And Your... Kiss)

Frank takes a quick look in his rear view mirror, runs his fingers through his messy hair and then smiles at his reflection as he slides the key out of the ignition. He's really fucking late, but that's never a good reason to look anything less than hot. He grabs his cargo bag out of the passenger seat and flips the automatic lock on his second hand Honda and then walks as quickly as his short legs will carry him to the entrance of _Penny Lane_.

Frank remembers interviewing for the music rag two years ago, after he got fired from his last job for doing more staff members than actual work. He thought at the time that there was no way in hell he was going to get it, but he'd smiled and flirted and giggled a little with the guy interviewing him, and for obvious reasons, the guy had smiled and given him the job. The weird thing is, since then, the guy hasn't given him much of anything else, not that Frank is ever wanting for companionship.

"You're late, Iero," Gerard shouts as Frank comes down the hallway at what could be considered a run.

"You know, I was just thinking about you, Gee," Frank says, smiling. There are few things Frank likes more than fucking with Gerard.

"Oh," Gerard says warily as he takes a step back into the safety of his office.

"Yeah," Frank says. "I was thinking about the day you interviewed me, and I was sort of feeling amazed that you hired me."

"It's a decision I question every day, Iero," Gerard says sarcastically, but he's smiling at what Frank assumes are memories of the interview.

"Huh," Frank says a mischievous smile blooming on his face. "I always just thought it was because I have an excellent ass."

Gerard sputters and Frank laughs as he heads down the hallway, swaying his hips a little as he goes so Gerard has something to look at.

He veers away from his own office and comes to a halt in front of Brendon, who is on the phone. This isn't exactly a surprise to Frank, since Brendon is on the phone ninety-nine percent of the time, and only about fifteen percent of that time is spent on business. Brendon looks up at Frank, and Frank raises his eyebrow as Brendon continues to talk.

"But I mean, what was I supposed to do?" Brendon asks the person on the other end of the line. "It's like, the girl wanted to _snuggle_ after and I am just not down with that."

Frank opens his mouth to speak and Brendon holds up a finger to keep Frank silent and then he rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders in a _what's a guy to do_ kind of way. Frank sighs and starts tapping his foot.

Brendon laughs at something and then says, "Yeah, I want a girl who will just bend over and take it and won't be offended when I don't ask for her digits after. I mean, what the fuck? Did she really think I was gonna take her home to meet the parents after I had her calling me daddy all night long?"

Frank maybe wants to throw up in his mouth a little bit. Brendon is the most disgusting pig he's ever met. Which is a shame, because Brendon is seriously hot, and Frank would bend him over and make him take it any day of the week if he could stand to look at him for more than five seconds.

He manages to hold onto his breakfast, but he's pretty much done listening to this conversation, so he reaches out and pushes the button on Brendon's phone to disconnect him. "Hey!" Brendon says incredulously.

"Can you do your job and tell me if Spencer is in?" Frank asks, ignoring Brendon's protest.

"You couldn't have just walked in to see?" Brendon asks.

"You couldn't have put your stimulating personal conversation on hold for ten seconds to answer my question?" Frank counters.

"He's in," Brendon snaps before picking up the phone and punching in numbers.

"Thanks," Frank says dryly. "Hope I didn't stress you out too much there, man."

Brendon huffs and Frank rolls his eyes and heads for Spencer's closed door.

Frank and Spencer started at about the same time, and Frank has every idea why Gerard hired Spencer. He's smart and earnest and one of the hardest workers Frank has ever met. Sometimes, it's kind of amazing to Frank that they get along so well. If Frank's completely honest with himself, he has to admit that Spencer is pretty much his best friend.

"Hey," he says strolling in without knocking.

Spencer looks up from whatever article he's editing. "Hey," Spencer says back, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth.

Frank takes a moment to look at Spencer. Spencer is twenty five and he's pretty much the youngest copy editor Frank's ever met. He's also seriously hot and if Frank didn't love him so damn much he would have tried to seduce him a long time ago. There's just something so green about Spencer that Frank feels like a dirty old man for even thinking things like that, even if he is only thirty one.

"Guess what I did last night?" Frank asks, his voice a sing song.

"What, or whom"? Spencer asks.

"You know me so well," Frank says laughing. "So, guess," he continues.

"I don't have to guess. You did Gabe Saporta from the mail room," Spencer says rolling his eyes.

"How the fuck did you know that? He's not spreading it around the entire office is he? Because that dude is seriously kinky and I will ruin -- "

"Oh god," Spencer interrupts. "I don't want to know the gory details. I know because last night on the phone you told me, and I quote, 'I'm going out with Gabe Saporta tonight and I'm going to fuck him into the sheets after he buys me dinner,' end quote."

"Oh, yeah," Frank says slyly. "I have to stop telling you shit so that I'll have shit to tell you when I should be working."

Spencer starts laughing and Gerard takes that exact moment to come strolling through the door with a few folders. Spencer immediately stops laughing and looks at Gerard with what Frank interprets as a hopeful expression.

"Have these back to me by five o'clock tomorrow, Spencer," Gerard says and then turns around immediately to glare at Frank. "Don't you have an office of your own?" he asks.

"This one's nicer,” Frank retorts.

"Gerard," Spencer interrupts. "Did you get a chance to look at that story idea I put on your desk last week?"

Gerard sighs and turns around wincing a little when he says, "Yeah, I gave it to Travis."

Spencer's eyes get large and round and he says incredulously, "You gave it to Travis! Travis smokes more pot than a college kid after finals."

Gerard stares for a moment and then says, "Who better to do a story on drugs in the music scene?"

Spencer huffs in frustration. "If you would just give me a chance, Gee, I know I could do this."

"Spencer, you're just not ready," Gerard says kindly. "And don't call me Gee or I'll fire you," he adds as an afterthought.

"Frank calls you Gee all the time," Spencer says.

"How many times have I fired Frank?" Gerard asks.

"Three?" Spencer says like he's not really sure.

"Five," Frank says. "But he can't live without me so I keep coming back."

"Like herpes," Gerard says dryly. "And Frank? Stop sleeping with people from the mailroom. It's unseemly."

Frank grins and looks at Gerard innocently before he asks, "Who told you I slept with someone from the mail room?"

"Well, you told Spencer, and I was eavesdropping. Same difference," Gerard says. He shrugs and smiles at Frank.

"You don't have to be so jealous, baby," Frank croons teasingly. He licks his tongue out along his bottom lip and lets it catch on his lip ring suggestively.

Gerard sputters and says, "I thought I told you to take that thing out."

"You did," Franks says and he presses his lips together trying hard not to laugh.

"Jesus, Frank. I'm going to fire you," Gerard says and that's so like Gerard that Frank does laugh. Gerard clenches his fists and turns toward the door to leave. "Again," he amends.

Frank keeps laughing, but manages to yell down the hall after Gerard, "One of these days, you're going to hurt my feelings!"

"Just get to work, okay?" Gerard yells back as he heads to his own office.

"God, I just know he's going to be fanfuckingtastic in bed. All that pent up energy and repressed sexual tension," Frank says shivering as he turns back toward Spencer. "I'm going to get him eventually."

"Don't you ever want more than just a hook up?" Spencer asks.

"There's nothing better than sex, Spencer Smith. You'd know that if you had more of it," Frank says.

Spencer makes an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. "I wasn't talking about sex. I was talking about _meaningless_ sex," he says.

"I'm more of a quantity over quality kind of guy," Frank says shrugging. "My boatload of meaningless sex has got to be better than your never-ending dry spell in the eternal search for _true love_."

Spencer doesn't say anything for a few seconds and then he waves his hand and says, "Whatever. When you finally do get Gerard, can you get him to give me a fucking assignment? It's starting to get frustrating always being behind a desk."

"I like being behind a desk. Or in front of one, or underneath one, or on top of one," Frank says. "Pretty much -- "

"I get it," Spencer snaps. "Frank, we work at one of the most prestigious music magazines in the country. Don't you ever want to be more than a copy editor?"

Frank considers for a moment and then shrugs his shoulder. "Not really, but I want it for you, baby." Frank winks and then leans over Spencer's desk to lay a smacking kiss against Spencer's cheek. "We're having lunch together today, twelve thirty."

"Okay," Spencer says absently and turns his attention to the folders Gerard brought in.

Frank heads down the hallway to see who else he can harass instead of doing actual work.

~~~

Frank's fifteen minutes late to lunch due to a near-disaster in the break room with a broken coffee pot; thankfully, there was a spare under the sink area, so Frank won't have to kill anyone after all.

"Fucking Wentz needs to lay off the prescription medication and stay away from my coffee maker," Frank says bitchily as he sits down, clutching his coffee cup the way a mother might cling to her baby.

Spencer nods and bites into his lettuce wrap with a grimace. Patrick is sitting next to him eating a small bag of Cheetos; he raises his eyebrow at Frank and then turns to Spencer and says, "Why do you eat that stuff?"

"It's good for you," Spencer says, using his hand to cover his mouth so he can talk around his food.

Patrick wrinkles his nose and says to Frank, "What did Pete do now?"

Frank licks a drop of coffee off the rim of his mug and says fiercely, "He killed the coffee pot and almost met his demise."

Patrick smiles benignly at Frank and his eyes get a little dreamy. "He's not so bad," Patrick says.

Spencer pokes at his lettuce wrap with a look of disgust on his face. "It's no use," he says. "This thing is not edible."

Frank reaches across the table and sniffs it suspiciously before he lays it back on Spencer's plate and says, "Maybe I could feed it to Pete."

Patrick glares and kicks Frank in the shin. "Leave him alone. He's sweet," Patrick says, and he's got that dreamy look again.

"Only because he's always bringing you shit like Darth Tater and The Lord of the Rings Pez dispensers and other useless crap you find adorable. It's all so cute I want to throw up sometimes," Frank says, and he wants to say it meanly -- because it really is disgusting how gooey it all is -- but Patrick is just too sweet. It would be like kicking a puppy or something.

"You're just jealous," Spencer says rolling his eyes.

" _I'm_ jealous?" Frank says rolling his back. "Who got laid last night and who hasn't been on a date since...I actually don't know that I've ever seen you date." Frank taps his fingers against the table as he tries to think of any moment where Spencer has mentioned a date or even a nice old-fashioned one night stand.

Spencer blushes and mumbles, "I date."

"You know what? Gabe has a friend, and he's adorable and tiny and he has a really nice smile. I could set something up," Frank says.

Patrick is looking between them like he's playing a game of Pong and Spencer puts his face in his hands mortified. "No!" he says so loudly that a few of the other tables look over. "I'm not letting you set me up on some lame double date. Someday, I'll meet the right guy and things will just...fall into place."

Frank is about to laugh until he realizes Spencer is being completely serious. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"I think it's sort of romantic," Patrick says, a small smile on his face.

"When I have sex, I want it to be the real thing. I want it to be more than just some freak from the mail room," Spencer says, glaring at both Frank and Patrick.

Frank can feel his eyes stretching and bugging out because he's pretty sure Spencer just admitted that he's never had sex and that is...sort of mind-blowing. Frank lost his virginity when he was fourteen, and the idea of eleven extra years without sex is actually making Frank's stomach hurt. "Dude," Frank says, as calmly as he can manage. "You're totally a virgin."

Spencer squirms uncomfortably and hides his face in his hands again. "I've just been waiting for the right one," he says, the sound muffled through his palms.

Patrick sighs and says, "Now that really _is_ romantic."

"Oh for Christ's sake," Frank says crankily. "You're both ridiculous." He picks up Spencer's lettuce wrap and takes a bite angrily and then wishes he hadn't. "This thing is terrible," he says with his mouth full.

Spencer finally comes out of hiding from behind his hands. "Yes. Yes. It really is," he says.

Frank takes a few seconds to consider what he wants to say to Spencer, because Spencer is obviously embarrassed, and Spencer is his friend even if he is completely lame. "Spencer," Franks says tentatively. "We have seriously got to do something about this. There are tons of men right here in this very office that you're missing out on."

Spencer sighs and shakes his head sadly and says, "Frank, I know you don't understand this, but I don't want tons of guys. I just want one, and I'll know him when I see him."

"You know I love you," Frank says sharply. "But, maybe you're so busy looking for _the one_ that you're missing out on some really nice experiences with..." Frank waves his hand around airily before he continues, "other ones."

Spencer gets a bitchy look on his face and shoves back from the table. "Maybe you're so busy having experiences with other ones," Spencer says using his fingers to make air quotes around "experiences." "That you're missing out on the person that could potentially be _the one_." Spencer picks up his plate and his briefcase and walks stiffly out of the cafeteria without looking back.

"He does have a point," Patrick says helpfully.

"Oh, shut up," Franks says before he gets up and heads out the door opposite the one Spencer used.

When Frank gets back to his office he realizes two things. One, he left his fucking coffee on the table in the lunch room and two, all he's had to eat today is a bite of the worst lettuce wrap known to man. "Fuck Spencer Smith," Frank mutters to himself and then stabs his letter opener into a stack of papers on his desk until he feels better.  
~~~

Frank doesn't see Spencer again until their staff meeting at the end of the day. Spencer doesn't look at him as they all file in, and Frank's gut clenches painfully. There is no way Frank can stay mad at Spencer. There's also no way Frank is letting Spencer stay mad at him, because Frank's been really fucking lonely the last three and a half hours, so lonely he actually got some work done earlier, and that is down right scary. "Spencer," Frank says, grabbing onto Spencer's bicep. "I'm sorry," he whispers when Spencer turns around to look at him.

Spencer's shoulders relax noticeably and he says, "Me too," before he smiles. Frank winks at him, and they both laugh a little until they notice Gerard giving them a dirty look from his place at the meeting table. Gerard mouths "sit" to both of them, and Frank tries to compose himself and look respectable. Not that Frank worries much about "respectable" at _Penny Lane_ , as their CEO, Andy Mrotek, is covered in tattoos, violently hates shirts, insists that everyone call him "The Butcher," and thinks it's perfectly okay to wear neon pink hot pants on casual Fridays. Frank's body art -- the lip ring, hand tattoos, and a neck piece that just peeks out above the collar of his shirt -- is downright sedate by comparison.

"Let's get this party started," The Butcher says, calling the meeting to order. "Last edition was great, you guys, except for how _Rolling Stone_ scooped us on that article about the kazoo as a legitimate instrument in modern music. It was a fascinating read, for those of you that didn't see it."

Everyone nods in agreement except Frank, who tries to hide a snicker by coughing loudly. Gerard leans over and looks past Spencer to glare at Frank, and Frank looks away only to see Gabe's face plastered against the small window in the door to the conference room. When they make eye contact, Gabe smiles and waggles his eyebrows in what Frank assumes is supposed to be a sexy way, but really it's just kind of creepy. Frank smiles back though and gives a quick wave, then turns his attention back to the meeting.

Spencer singsongs, "Stalker," under his breath, and Frank elbows him in the ribs.

Gerard is peering around Spencer again and he looks up at the window where Gabe is still smiling, nose pressed up against the glass and his eyes on Frank. Gerard's mouth thins out and he gives Frank a disapproving look. Frank smiles and shrugs his shoulders innocently and is about to mouth, "What?" when they're all suddenly brought back to the here and now by the Butcher who says, "So, that's what I want to do." He points suddenly at Spencer and continues, "You, what's your name?"

Spencer looks like he's just been asked to explain nuclear fusion, and he stammers, "Sp... Sp... Spencer."

"Great!" The Butcher says proudly. "Spencer, you're going back to high school!"

"What?" Frank, Spencer, and Gerard all ask at the same time.

"No one listens to me," The Butcher says, looking to his right where his assistant, Adam, is obviously paying rapt attention.

"I do," Adam says eagerly, and then turns to Frank and Spencer and Gerard and says, "He said we're going to do a story on the decline of musical education in our school system, and he wants one of us to go undercover to get the story."

Spencer gasps next to him, and Frank blinks in amazement because it's actually not a bad idea for a story, and most of The Butcher's ideas are pretty terrible. In all fairness, that's mostly due to the fact that he takes a lot of advice from Bill, the VP, and Bill is a ditz on a good day and a complete fucking moron on a bad one. Most days, all Frank has to do to feel more secure in his job is take a look at the two people running the company.

When Frank turns to see Spencer's reaction, Spencer is smiling so hard his teeth are actually impairing Frank's vision. "Really?" Spencer finally manages to get out, breathless and flushed pink.

"Yes, really!" The Butcher says with a psychotic gleam in his eye. He rubs his hands together in a Dr. Evil fashion and smiles brightly.

Frank drops his forehead against the table and closes his eyes. This isn't going to end well at all.  
~~~

Frank and Gerard both go to Spencer's office in some kind of silent agreement, because Frank has always believed that two is better than one, and this is definitely no exception.

Frank starts by sitting down in front of Spencer's desk, where Spencer is facing him, still smiling like he can't make his muscles relax. This is the most manic Frank's ever seen Spencer, and to be honest it's a little bit creepy. "Are you sure about this?" Frank asks tentatively.

Spencer's smile finally drops a little and he wrinkles his forehead. "What do you mean? This is going to be amazing," Spencer says, sounding confused.

Frank gives Spencer a look like he's lost his mind. "No one wants to go back to high school, Spencer. High school is like having the flu for four years. It's exhausting and makes you feel the worst you've ever felt in your life."

Gerard nods enthusiastically next to Frank. "I can probably get The Butcher to send someone else. Hell, Siska would probably do it," Gerard says.

"I want to do it," Spencer says. "You don't think I can do it?" Spencer looks genuinely hurt as his eyes flick between Gerard and Frank.

"It's not that," Frank says, even though it sort of is. "We're just worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be great!" Spencer says with as much conviction as he can muster.

Frank sighs and resigns himself to the fact that he's going to have to help. There is no way Spencer can do this on his own. He looks at Gerard, shrugs, and then looks at Spencer. "The important question is, what are you gonna’ wear?"

Spencer's eyes get wide, and he pales considerably before he says, "I have no fucking idea."

Frank smiles and rubs his hands together; Gerard slumps down in the chair next to him and says, "How can I help?"  
~~~

Spencer starts school the following Monday, a concept Frank is _still_ having trouble wrapping his mind around, and it makes Frank cranky, because being in the office without Spencer _sucks_. Frank never realized how many times he went to Spencer's office in a day until there was no Spencer to go to anymore. He gets so desperate at one point that he actually attempts to talk to Brendon.

Frank is a little bit scared of Brendon now. It's not so much that the guy is kinky, but more that he _thinks_ he's kinky when he's actually just really gross. Frank runs far, far away as fast as he can.

He talks to Spencer on Monday night and gets yelled at for helping.

"What were you thinking?" Spencer asks sounding bitchy and pissed off. "I went in there in ripped jeans, a Black Sabbath T-shirt and eyeliner. People looked at me like I was some kind of freak."

Frank takes a second to consider what Spencer is saying and then admits, "I was kind of a freak in high school. Did I forget to mention that?"

"Yes," Spencer says shortly. "Yes, you did."

Frank laughs and then says, "Sorry, Spence. Other than that, how was your day?"

Spencer makes a frustrated noise and then there's banging like maybe he's slamming the phone down on a hard surface before he comes back on the line. "My car got stolen and moved to the Teacher's parking lot, which got me detention even though I tried to tell the idiot principal that I didn't actually park it there."

"So, I take it there was no good at all?" Frank asks.

Spencer sighs over the line. "Well, I did meet a sweet kid that helped me find my car. He's a little weird, wears newsboy caps and paisley shirts and vests with scarves, but he's really nice and he bought me coffee after we found my car. His name is Ryan," Spencer says. "Oh!" he continues excitedly, "and my teacher for music appreciation class is amazing. He's really down to earth and he knows his stuff and he lets us do free time writing while he plays some of the most amazing music, both modern and contemporary. I think I'm going to love his class."

Frank laughs and says, "I miss you at work, but I'm glad you're having a little fun despite your wardrobe malfunction."

Spencer laughs, too. "Whatever, it was _your_ malfunction. I was just lucky enough to be the one wearing it," he says, words trailing off into a yawn.

"You should get some sleep. Big day at school tomorrow," Frank says in his best motherly tone.

"Fuck you," Spencer says without heat, and yawns again.

"You wish," Frank says.

"You," Spencer says sleepily, and they volley back and forth until Spencer finally mutters, "Goodnight, Frank," and hangs up the phone.

"Goodnight, Spencer," Frank says to the empty line before he hangs up and drifts off to sleep too.  
~~~

By the end of the first month of Spencer's assignment, Frank is so bored without him, he finds himself in Gerard's office. "What are you doing?" he asks, leaning over Gerard's shoulder to peek at whatever he's looking at.

"Looking at Spencer's notes," Gerard says. He sounds frustrated.

"Is something wrong with them?" Frank asks, because he's genuinely interested in reading what Spencer's written so far, even though he gets a blow-by-blow by phone almost every night.

"No, they're absolutely perfect. Every t crossed, every i dotted, and not a period or comma out of place. They're also excruciatingly boring, and any story that could possibly be produced from them will be awful," Gerard says. He rubs his eyes in an exhausted manner and walks around to the other side of his desk to sit down.

Frank gestures toward the folder and asks, "May I?"

Gerard nods and waves his hand, the physical equivalent of "whatever".

Frank reads through Spencer's notes, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth. It's good writing, technically perfect, and yet not at all engaging. There's nothing of Spencer in it. It makes Frank wonder what's going on, since his nightly chats with Spencer usually have him in stitches. "What are you going to do?" Frank asks, not bothering to try and bullshit Gerard. They both know whatever story Spencer writes from these notes isn't going to be something anyone wants to read.

Gerard slumps in his chair and says, "I don't know." His voice is sad and tired, and the curve of his shoulders pulls at Frank's stomach. "I know Spencer really wants this opportunity, but this is still a job. If he can't do this, I need to find someone who can," Gerard continues.

Frank's fingers tingle a little, and he realizes he kind of wants to run them through Gerard's hair. "I think maybe he's just nervous. I can talk to him, or I could stay with you, try to help you come up with a plan," he says instead, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of Gerard's desk.

Gerard looks up and his eyes are hopeful for a second before the light in them dims and he asks, "What, no date with Gabe tonight?"

Frank smiles and thinks for a split second about teasing Gerard for being jealous, but Gerard really does look tired and he doesn't feel like playing games when one of the players is obviously at a disadvantage. "No, nothing going on tonight," he says quietly instead, meeting Gerard's gaze with his own.

Neither one of them looks away for a long time, until Gerard finally smiles and says, "Okay, thank you."

"My pleasure," Franks says, and despite the fact that this is most definitely extra work Frank's signed up for, he's kind of amazed to find that he's spoken the truth.  
~~~

Gerard decides that the best way to find an interesting story is to find out exactly what's happening in Spencer's day-to-day life at school. To this end, he enlists Bob Bryar.

Frank likes Bob. He's awesome and funny and hot. In fact, the only thing really wrong with Bob is that he's totally straight. It's such a waste it actually made Frank tear up a little when Bob told him.

"So," Bob says as they both sit in Gerard's office, waiting for him to finish up with a staff meeting. "Gabe Saporta, huh?"

Frank quirks an eyebrow and says, "Does everyone know about that?"

Bob laughs and nods his head. "If it really bothered you, you'd keep it in your pants in the office."

"I can't quit yet; I haven't slept with all the hot people," Frank says with an evil grin and an inviting look.

Bob laughs again and ruffles Frank's hair like Frank is five years old. "If I suddenly wake up gay, you'll be the first to know, Frankie."

Someone clears their throat behind them, and Frank whips his head around to see Gerard giving them both an assessing look. Bob has his fingers wrapped around the back of Frank's neck where they fell after the hair ruffling, and he pulls them away quickly like Frank's skin burned him. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Gerard says sharply.

Bob shakes his head; Frank swallows thickly and his stomach is suddenly in knots like he's been caught cheating on a final, which is ridiculous because he and Bob weren't doing anything and even if they had been, it's none of Gerard's fucking business. Frank feels chastised just the same and he spends the rest of the meeting slumped in his chair with a sullen look on his face.

When the meeting is finally over with, Frank makes a quick escape to the restroom and splashes water on his face. He feels shaky and a little bit sick and he really wants to just go home and crawl into bed.

~~~

Frank doesn't go home, but he doesn't exactly go back to work either. He ends up hiding out in the break room eating Peanut M&M's for an hour. That goes pretty well until a little before noon, when Gabe strolls in for his lunch break and makes a beeline for Frank's table. "You look down in the dumps, sexy," Gabe says, and Frank winces. Frank doesn't think Gabe's always sounded this skeezy, and it pisses him off a little bit that he can't even enjoy flirting with a perfectly hot guy. He doesn't understand why Gerard's disapproval bothers him so much, but it's kind of annoying.

"Fucking Gerard," Frank mutters, and then he looks up and says, "Hey, I'm sorry, but I have to go." He gets up and makes a speedy escape leaving Gabe sitting at the table with a confused look on his face. He walks out of the break room and down various halls, straight past his office, and out the front doors of _Penny Lane_. He gets in his car, turns the radio up as loud as he can, and drives to nowhere in particular.

An hour later he finds himself in front of his house, so he shrugs and turns off the ignition and sits for a little bit. Frank is a sensible person, and he's used to getting exactly what he wants; he sets a goal for himself and flirts toward it until it's eating out of the palm of his hand. Frank truly believes that he can do anything he sets his mind to, and today he's decided that he's just going to stop worrying about Gerard Way. He wrinkles his forehead and focuses really hard on not worrying about him until his cell phone rings loudly, ruining his concentration.

He glares at his phone accusingly and picks it up to check the caller ID. Spencer's name is flashing on the screen and Frank answers it immediately. "Hello," Frank says.

"Why didn't you tell me Gerard was siccing Bob on me?" Spencer hisses into the phone.

Fuck. Frank completely forgot to give Spencer the heads up. "Shit, I'm sorry, Spence. I'm having a really shitty day and I just forgot," Frank says apologetically.

Spencer heaves a pissed off sigh and says, "So, basically, everyone is going to be spying on me? I'm wired for sound and video and everyone gets to watch my every move like I'm an undercover cop infiltrating a drug cartel. This is fucking high school, not a mob movie!"

Frank nods to himself and says, "I really am sorry, Spence."

"I don't know if I can do this knowing everyone is watching," Spencer says.

"You could always quit," Frank says, trying to feel out Spencer's reaction. "Gerard wouldn't hold it against you."

"I don't want to quit," Spencer says.

Frank nods again to himself and says, "Then don't. I know you can do this, Spencer."

Spencer sighs and Frank suddenly wishes he could see him. "We should have dinner or something. I miss conversations that don't have words like, 'awesome' and 'totally' in them," Spencer says.

"You know, that would be, like, totally awesome," Frank says doing his best Valley girl impression. "You can tell me about your day."

Spencer laughs and says, "Fuck you, man."

~~~

Frank decides that the best way to not worry about whatever has crawled up Gerard's ass is to avoid him. Avoiding Gerard, it turns out, is pretty easy, at least for the first few days. Then Spencer's video feeds go live, and half the office is stuffed into the media room at any given moment during the workday. And since watching Spencer make an idiot of himself in high school actually qualifies as work, there's a fifty percent chance that Gerard is among the crowd glued to the television.

Frank tells everyone that they're being disgusting voyeurs, but really he's just annoyed that he can't both watch his best friend -- and man, how pathetic is it that that's the only way he gets to see Spencer anymore -- and effectively hide from Gerard.

He decides to sneak some Spencer time in after lunch only to find Brendon there with a bag of popcorn and a Diet Coke. "What are you doing here?" Frank asks wearily. He'd almost rather have to deal with Gerard at this point.

"Are you kidding? This is better than a car wreck, man," Brendon says with an evil grin.

"Don't you have virgins to deflower or coffee tables to ruin or something else that doesn't require you to be here?" Frank asks.

Brendon turns red and says, "That coffee table thing is a slanderous rumor! Who have you been talking to?"

"Actually, it's a libelous rumor, since I read it on the wall of the restroom stall on the second floor, but whatever," Frank says maliciously. Brendon gets up shakily, sets his popcorn on the chair his butt just vacated, and practically runs out the door for what Frank assumes is the second floor.

Frank is still smiling to himself when Gerard walks in. He stops abruptly in the doorway when he sees Frank, and they stare at each other until Gerard finally breaks the silence by saying, "You've been avoiding me."

Frank's not about to admit to that, and bolting out of the room isn't an option since Gerard is blocking his escape path, so he sighs inwardly and says, "Just been busy." He pats the chair next to him in invitation.

"You miss him, huh?" Gerard asks nodding toward the screen.

Frank looks up at the television and nods his head.

"What do you think about him?" Gerard asks pointing to one of Spencer's teachers on the screen.

Frank looks up and studies the person in question. "He's hot," Frank says without pause. He is hot, too, if a little short, but Frank practically needs a stool to see in the mirror in the restrooms, so he's not one to judge height. The guy has pretty, expressive, brown eyes and shiny dark hair that falls into his face in a tangled mess. His voice is soft and calming as he asks questions, letting various students answer until he finally calls on Spencer. Spencer throws the answer out immediately, thoughtful and correct, and the teacher smiles so beautifully that Frank's breath actually gets caught in his chest. "Oh, Oh!" Frank says loudly, slapping his hand over his mouth. He's positive that if the camera angle were reversed, Spencer would have a smile to match.

"Yeah," Gerard says. "That's Jonathan Walker, and he tends to look at Spencer like that a lot."

Frank's stomach drops when he recognizes the tone in Gerard's voice. He looks at Gerard and shakes his head. "I'm sure it's not what you're thinking," Frank says. Frank knows Spencer and Spencer isn't the type of person that has a fling with his teacher.

"It would sure make his story more interesting," Gerard says nonchalantly. "A teacher falling for a student makes for a juicy read."

"I thought this article was supposed to be about the quality of the music program in our schools," Frank says, because even if he's pretty sure nothing is going on, he's not about to let Gerard sabotage the possibility. Spencer seriously needs to get laid and Frank is nothing if not a good friend.

"I'm just saying it might be a way to go," Gerard says gently. "Maybe you're right, maybe there's nothing going on there."

"People want to read about music from a music magazine," Frank says. "If they want scandal, they can pick up a copy of _US Weekly_.

Gerard nods and stands up, patting Frank's shoulder lightly. "It was just an idea. I'm sure you're right anyway, it's probably nothing."

Something about Gerard's tone is mildly unsettling but Frank isn't about to push the subject when Gerard's words are telling him he's won the argument, at least for now.  
~~~

Frank calls Spencer and they make plans to meet for coffee. Frank gets there first and orders himself a venti coffee and gets a Caramel Machiatto and biscotti for Spencer.

"I love you," Spencer says five minutes later when he plops down in front of his coffee and takes a big sip. "So, what's up?" Spencer asks.

Frank thinks about working up to it slowly, but it's never really been his style so he just put it out there. "What's up with you and Jon Walker?" he asks.

Spencer flushes and stammers, "What?"

"You and the hot teacher?" Frank says teasingly, leaning toward Spencer intently. "Is something going on there, because friends share details. Spill it."

Spencer looks at Frank and glares and says, "Nothing is going on! I'm not you."

"Spencer Smith you liar. If something isn't going on, you at least want it to be, because it's not your stimulating classes that have the entire office tuning into your broadcasts every day like their watching an episode of _Desperate Housewives_."

Spencer pales noticeably and says, "Oh, God. No, that's really bad. The whole office thinks something is going on?"

Frank nods and asks, "Are they right?"

Spencer says, "No!" and then takes a deep breath. "I like him, okay. I like him. He's amazing and smart and kind and really, really hot, but he's not like that. He thinks I'm eighteen and he's not like that. He wouldn't, okay?" Spencer is babbling and breathing in short stops and starts and Frank's afraid he might pass out.

"Spencer, okay. Calm down," Frank says running his hand soothingly over the back of Spencer's on the table.

Spencer closes his eyes and breathes. When he's calmer he asks, "What am I going to do?"

Frank shrugs his shoulders and asks, "What do you want to do?"

Spencer sighs and rests his chin on his fisted hand and says, "I want to write a good article and tell Jon the truth and maybe ask him out for coffee if he doesn't hate me after it's all said and done."

Frank laughs and says, "I knew you had it in you, Spencer. You should have hot, messy, sex with him too, okay."

 

Spencer rolls his eyes and grabs his bag. "Let me just get through the next couple months in one piece and then I'll think about hot sex with the hot teacher. Right now, I have to go make an appearance at the school carnival for band. They're trying to raise money for camp this summer."

"Is the hot teacher going to be there?" Frank asks.

"Probably," Spencer says. "He's in the music department."

"Try not to do anything questionable, okay?" Frank says.

"You mean, don't do anything you would do," Spencer says with a smirk.

"Exactly," Frank says with a laugh.

~~~

On Monday morning Frank passes by Spencer's office and sees Brendon standing at his desk, looking a little worried. Since Brendon doesn't worry about anything -- except possibly catching sexually transmitted diseases -- it piques Frank's interest enough to wander over and investigate.

"What's going on?" Frank asks just as he hears a loud bang from Spencer's office.

"He's really pissed," Brendon says wide eyed. "I didn't know he could even get pissed like that. It's kind of scary."

Frank nods and then walks over to Spencer's door and opens it without knocking. "Shouldn't you be at school?" Frank asks.

Spencer throws a file into the trash can with more force than is really necessary. "He's making me 'take notes' on Jon in case he decides to include him in the story," Spencer says and he sounds near tears. "Things are finally starting to get better for me. I'm getting to know the cool kids and... He's ruining everything."

Frank has a strange desire to laugh for a minute because Spencer is throwing the equivalent pf a teenage hissy fit. This undercover job is clearly getting to him. "He seemed to be on the other side of the fence when I left here Friday. You didn't do anything stupid after you left me, did you?" Frank asks.

Spencer looks guilty for a minute and then says, "He wanted to ride with me? What was I supposed to do? Tell him to fuck off?"

Frank holds up a hand and says, "Whoa, I missed your extracurricular activities so I have no idea what you're talking about. You're going to have to clue me in here if you want me to help."

"Who says I do?" Spencer snaps and then shakes his head and says, "Sorry, sorry. I'm just... ugh. I feel really irritable right now."

Frank raises his eyebrow and says, "Really, never would have guessed."

"There was a Ferris Wheel and I didn't have anyone to ride with me and Jon saw and he rode with me and it was really sweet. He's just trying to be sweet. That's it."

Frank smiles softly and says, "So, you really like this guy, huh?"

Spencer sits slowly in his chair and then stands back up again nervously before he says, "I really, really like him. I mean _really_ and he thinks I'm eighteen. Seriously, what the fuck am I going to do?"

Frank's the type of guy who gives hugs when they're due, so he walks around Spencer's desk and pulls Spencer in for a second. "We'll figure it out," Frank says. Frank's going to kill Gerard if he gets in the way of Spencer maybe, finally getting laid.

Spencer sighs and leans against Frank. "This sucks. I finally find a guy I'm interested in and it has to be all complicated."

Frank squeezes Spencer a little tighter and then lets him go. "You just keep doing what you're doing and leave Gerard to me," Frank says. He has no idea what exactly he's going to do, but he's nothing if not resourceful.   
~~~

He doesn't have a plan. He doesn't even have any ideas for a potential plan. This clearly sucks, since Frank usually can figure out exactly what needs to be done in order to achieve the desired result. Unfortunately, the desired result is usually a hookup, and the plan is usually thinly veiled sexual innuendo. That clearly isn't going to work this time around.

Frank still feels like he has to try something though since this is the first time Frank's seen Spencer actually interested in a guy. It helps that the guy in question actually seems like a pretty decent guy, except for the part where he's clearly lusting after one of his students, who he thinks is eighteen. Fortunately, Frank's grandmother used to spout Bible verses at him a lot growing up, and the one that stuck was, _Judge not, lest ye be judged!_ Frank certainly doesn't want anyone looking at his track record and passing judgment.

By the time he gets to Gerard's door, he still doesn't have much of a plan, so he decides to fall on an old classic: begging and puppy eyes. It worked on his grandmother pretty damn well, and she was a lot like Gerard, cranky but sweet.

"Come in," Gerard says when he hears the knock. When he sees it's Frank, he smiles and it makes his whole face light up. It warms Frank's belly for a moment before he remembers that Gerard is ruining lives and he must be stopped at all costs. Frank pulls out the puppy eyes.

Gerard's eyes narrow and he says, "What do you want," his tone hesitant and full of suspicion.

Frank walks in and sits. He doesn't really see any point in beating around the bush so he says, "I thought we agreed you were going to lay off this whole Jon Walker angle for a bit."

Gerard's smile disappears and he frowns at Frank. "Honestly, I thought you'd be happy about this."

Frank doesn't really think he's going to win any argument by telling Gerard he's ruining Spencer's potential sex life so he goes with, "You're undermining Spencer's journalistic integrity by assuming he's doing something inappropriate. Why would I be happy about that?" Frank is really thankful he learned to bullshit his way through things in high school. It's the one thing he learned that's still useful to this day.

Gerard focuses on a point over Frank's shoulder and says flippantly, "I appreciate your input, but I get to decide what Spencer is going to write about and if Spencer likes his job, he'll do it and he won't complain."

Frank's never seen Gerard be purposefully ugly and it makes him flinch in his seat. "What's wrong with you?" Frank asks incredulously. "We're talking about Spencer's career."

"Look Frank, I get that you like him and he's your friend or whatever, but maybe you just don't want to see that something is going on."

Frank is seriously confused by the entire course of this conversation. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gerard shrugs and says, "That's my point exactly. Maybe you should think about why you're so against the idea of Spencer being interested in this teacher." Gerard holds his hand up when Frank starts to speak. "And don't give me any more crap about journalistic integrity. I don't buy it."

"Spencer doesn't want to write a story about Jon," Frank says through gritted teeth.

"Maybe because there's a story there to write. Spencer's pretty good at taking what someone else wrote and making it better, but I've yet to see if he can take anything personal and make it worth reading. I'm sorry if that messes you up, but at this point, I don't really care what Spencer does or doesn't want to write about."

Frank suddenly sees red. It's one thing to give Frank crap about his work or work ethic. Frank doesn't think he has much talent in the first area, or much drive in the second, but Spencer is the smartest, hardest working person he knows and Gerard should know it too. "You're being a real asshole," Frank says harshly.

Gerard stands up and puts both palms on the desk and says low and deathly quiet, "Be careful, Frank. I put up with a fair amount of crap from you, but you're crossing the line."

Frank flushes, because Gerard's right, he did step over the line, and Gerard being right only pisses him off further. "You going to fire me again?" Frank asks, slouching in his chair and feigning boredom.

"Actually, I think it's best if you go home before either one of us says anything else we can't take back," Gerard says as he sits back in his chair and starts looking at his computer monitor.

"Are you suspending me?" Frank asks, his heart tripping crazily in his chest.

"Think of it as an extra day off, only without pay," Gerard says without looking up from his computer.

Frank gets up and makes it half way to the door before Gerard's voice stops him. "Oh, and Frank?" he says and Frank turns around, eyebrow raised in question. "Come back tomorrow with a different attitude."

Frank bites down on his tongue so hard that he knows he's going to feel it for hours after and since he can't tell Gerard to go fuck himself like he'd like to, he settles for slamming the door really hard on his way out.

~~~

Since Frank has the entire day to himself, he picks up a pizza and heads to Spencer's school to try and catch him for lunch. He ends up accidentally interrupting Spencer's class with Jon the hot teacher, and through some random chain of events almost gets roped into teaching a sex ed class by mistake. It's the kind of far fetched scenario that only happens in the movies and when Frank escapes to the hallway to wait for Spencer's class to get out he contemplates banging his head against the wall. This day could not possibly get any worse.

Spencer comes ambling out of class thirty minutes later. Frank is starving and even though the pizza is mostly cold, he and Spencer find a table outside and both grab a slice.

"Thanks for bringing me lunch," Spencer says around a bite of cheese and bread.

"No problem," Frank says not really paying attention. He's still focused on his and Gerard's fight and it must show on his face because Spencer finally says, "Okay, so talk."

"What?" Frank asks because he's feeling passive aggressive and tetchy and he really doesn't want to talk about it except for how he obviously does.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but I've been doing this whole school thing for a while now and you've never come to visit me before. You're also off in your own world which is kind of my thing, not yours, so lay it on me. I can be the one who listens for once."

Frank shrugs and says, "Gerard and I got into a fight and he sent me home. It was like... Like I'm his fucking kid and he put me on restriction."

Spencer quirks his eyebrow and says, "Considering some of the things you've said about Gerard, that's a little creepy."

Frank smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes and Spencer sighs and says, "So, what did you do to piss him off?"

"Why do you automatically assume I did something? Maybe he did something," Frank says stubbornly.

"Well, I know you and I know Gerard and from that equation, I deduced that you are most likely to blame. It doesn't mean I don't still like you better," Spencer says kindly.

"I went to talk to him about your story and he was stubborn and kind of an asshole so, you know, I told him."

"You called our boss an asshole?" Spencer asks wide eyed.

"I call 'em like I see 'em," Frank says.

"That probably wasn't very smart," Spencer says. "You should apologize tomorrow. Gerard already lets you get away with murder. He probably would have fired anyone else and you shouldn't take advantage just because he has a crush on you or whatever."

Frank jerks his head up at that and says sharply, "Gerard does not have a crush on me."

"Ummm... okay," Spencer says drawing out the last word annoyingly and rolling his eyes.

"He doesn't!" Frank says. "Most days, I'm pretty sure he hates me."

"So, yeah, I'm in high school again and being here has kind of helped me realize that nothing much changes no matter how old we get. You and Gerard do the grown up equivalent of hair pulling every single day," Spencer says.

Frank starts to shake his head and then shrugs his shoulders because Spencer's assessment is actually pretty accurate as far as his behavior goes. He goes out of his way on a day to day basis to poke and prod and get under Gerard's skin just to get a reaction. "Maybe I do that," Frank concedes. "But, Gee, trust me, he doesn't feel the same way."

"You know what I've never understood about you?" Spencer asks. "You hook up with all these guys you don't really care about and the one guy that you might actually like, you convince yourself there's no way he could possibly like you. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"It could all go horribly wrong, and I could get my somewhat nonexistent heart broken, and then I'd end up working in an office with my ex with all the awkward trappings that entails," Frank says.

"Or," Spencer says pointedly. "It could be amazing and you could find out that there's something better than flings and one night stands and then you and Gerard can have a commitment ceremony and I can be your best man."

Spencer smile and it makes Frank laugh. He can feel the stress of the day melting away. "You're such a sap," Frank says fondly.

"Yeah," Spencer says. "But I may also be right."

~~~

Frank shows up to work an hour early so he can talk to Gerard before the work day begins. Of course, Gerard is already there because he's some kind of freaky workaholic so Frank decides to just get it over with. He's not good at admitting he's wrong and he'd prefer to just do it and move on.

Gerard looks up when he knocks and his face doesn't give anything away, but he nods and says, "Come on in."

"I wanted to apologize," Frank says. He doesn't sit, just stays standing behind one of the leather chairs in front of Gerard's desk. "I was out of line yesterday."

Gerard nods and says, "I know you feel strongly about Spencer, and I can see how you thought I was maybe attacking him."

Frank interrupts and says, "Spencer's amazing and I wish you would give him a chance to prove it on his own merit, but I was still out of line. I know there's a time and a place for personal relationships and... It won't happen again, okay?"

Gerard looks at Frank quietly and then nods and says, "We'll just put it behind us then."

There's something so final in Gerard's tone that it makes Frank feel queasy, like maybe Gerard isn't just talking about putting their fight behind them. Since his talk with Spencer the day before, Frank's thought of pretty much nothing but Gerard and their years long game of will they or won't they and it would be just Frank's luck for Gerard to finally decide they won't, just when Frank's finally decided they will.

Frank doesn't really know how to ask that without laying all his cards on the table and he's still not quite ready to do that, so he says, "We're good then," instead.

Gerard gives him a small smile and says, "Yeah, we're good."

It doesn't relieve any of Frank's worry, but there isn't much else he can do about it so he nods and leaves quietly, shutting the door gently as he steps into the hallway.

~~~

The following week, things still seem off and awkward with Gerard and Frank still has no idea how to fix it. Spencer's world, on the other hand, is decidedly looking up.

"I got asked to prom," Spencer says over Chinese food on Frank's floor.

"Yeah? Is he hot?" Frank asks.

" _She_ is the hottest girl in school," Spencer says smugly.

Frank laughs and says, "Awesome, too bad you're gay."

Spencer shrugs his shoulders and says, "It's not like I can ask who I really want to ask anyway. I'll take the hot cheerleader over being a loser with no date like I was my first time through.

"What does the hot teacher think about your choice of prom date?" Frank asks.

Spencer glares and says, "The hot teacher doesn't concern himself with his student's love lives."

"You just called him the hot teacher," Frank says childishly. He didn't realized Spencer finally getting a love life was going to be so amusing.

Spencer punches Frank's shoulder. "Loser," he says. "God, Frank. It's kind of scary how much I like this guy. He makes me feel kind of pukey and my heart beat gets faster and my fingertips get numb. Sometimes he makes me compulsively lick my lips...which is probably a me thing and TMI."

Frank gets kind of queasy, because he maybe recognizes a few of those feelings from some of his more recent encounters with Gerard but that's something he really doesn't want to think about right now. There's nothing he can do about it until he figures out how Gerard feels about him and he's still not sure how to go about doing that, so he changes the subject by asking, "Did you just say TMI? We have got to get you out of that school ASAP."

"It'll all be over soon enough," Spencer says a bit wistfully.

~~~

It turns out, Spencer is right. His prom arrives sooner than any of them anticipated. The whole office shows up in the media room on prom night to cheer him on. Frank assumes that for most of the staff it's like getting to redo high school, with the added bonus of not actually having to do it. Even Gerard is there, smiling and talking and handing out refreshments to the rest of the group.

Spencer's been nominated for a court position and everyone wants to see him win. There are bets being placed on everything from who will win what award, to who will be the first one to spike the punch. Frank decides to keep his money in his pocket and take Spencer out to eat to celebrate his second pass at high school, no matter what the outcome turns out to be tonight.

Frank grabs a seat as close to the screen as he can get and Gerard plops down next to him a few minutes later, handing Frank a regular coffee just the way he likes it. Frank looks up and lets the now-constant and annoying sick feeling he gets around Gerard work itself out before he says, "Thanks."

"No problem," Gerard says smiling and he pats Frank's thigh absentmindedly. Frank gives him a confused look but Gerard isn't paying attention, his focus already on Spencer who's waiting for the limo to arrive to pick him up for the dance. "Are you excited?" Gerard asks when he finally takes a moment to look at Frank.

"Nervous," Frank says. "For Spencer, I mean." Frank feels like he should be doing something with his hands so he pulls uselessly at a loose thread in the leg of his jeans.

Gerard nods and they both turn toward the television together as Spencer steps out of his house to join his group in the limousine waiting on the curb. "I wish we had another camera, so we could see what his tux looks like," Gerard whispers.

Frank helped Spencer pick his tuxedo out, so he knows he looks amazing. "I'm sure he looks amazing," Frank says a small smile on his face.

Gerard gives Frank a questioning look and says, "Yeah, of course, amazing."

Frank wants to actually scream in frustration. He's usually good at reading what's going on in people's heads but he as no idea what Gerard's thinking. The whole thing is seriously starting to give him a headache.

Once Spencer's group arrives at the prom, Frank doesn't have time to think about it. The whole room gets quiet as Frank's coworkers finally settle down and start paying attention to what's happening on the television. The band helped pick out the theme and Frank recognizes some of the decorations from visits to Spencer's house or conversations they had over the phone. Thinking about it makes it really hit home for Frank that this is all nearly over. In just a few weeks, Spencer will be done with finals and back in his office where Frank can bug him every morning. The thought makes him smile.

Gerard nudges him with his shoulder and Frank looks toward him, their faces close together so Gerard can whisper, "Share the happy, Iero. What are you smiling about?"

Frank's smile gets a little bit bigger and he says, "Just happy Spencer will be back soon. I've missed him."

Gerard loses his smile but he nods and says, "Yeah, it'll be nice to have him back." They both turn back toward the action to watch the rest of the night unfold.

The rest of the evening goes amazingly well. Spencer dances with his cheerleader and his cheerleader gets a crown for princess or duchess or something. Frank doesn't really understand how it all works. He just knows she doesn't win the whole shebang. Spencer doesn't win anything because he's only been at the school for three months and this is real life. Frank hears him tell the cheerleader that he was honored just to be nominated and he sounds sincere.

The night is mostly over when Spencer excuses himself from his table and heads out of the gym into the school to go to the restroom. He's almost made it down the hall when a voice calls out his name. When Spencer turns around, Jon's image comes on screen and everyone in the media room gasps right along with Spencer.

"Hey," Jon says and he looks nervous, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants.

"Hey," Spencer says back. They look at each other for what is probably just a few seconds, but it feels like a long time for Frank who is holding his breath until finally Spencer says, "Did you need something?"

"Ummm," Jon says helpfully and he looks a little green, like maybe he's going to be sick any second now. "No, never mind," he finally says turning away from Spencer to head back down the hall.

"Wait!" Spencer says taking a few steps toward Jon.

Frank is literally on the edge of his seat by this point, still holding his breath for long intervals. Spencer finally reaches Jon, both of them standing so close to each other that Jon has to actually tip his head back to look Spencer in the eye. Spencer says, "I have to tell you something."

Frank wraps his arms around his stomach because he's so excited now that he thinks _he_ might throw up. Gerard leans into him a little bit and grabs his hand from where it's wrapped around his middle, giving it a light squeeze. Frank looks over and Gerard is staring at Frank, a worried look on his face and concern in his eyes.

On the screen, Jon says, "What? What do you have to tell me, Spencer?"

Spencer moves a little closer, which should be impossible and then suddenly, the television goes dark and then turns to static. The entire room erupts in voices and scraping chairs. Frank adds to the din by saying, "What the fuck?"

Gerard is already pulling out his cell phone and talking quietly to Bob, trying to get answers. Frank pulls out his own cell phone and looks at the screen even though he knows it's been less than five minutes and Spencer is still probably standing in that hallway with Jon Walker having a conversation with no clue that all hell has broken loose at _Penny Lane_.

Frank has no idea what he should be doing now, but he's worried he won't be able to hear his phone ringing over all the voices so he steps out of the media room and into the hallway where it's blissfully quiet. After a few minutes of pacing and deep breathing, his phone buzzes in his hand. His heart leaps when his ring tone follows shortly after and he flips the phone open without looking at the screen.

"Spencer," Frank says immediately. Spencer doesn't say anything, just breathes harshly into the phone and Frank says, "Breathe okay? Breathe and tell me what happened."

"I..." Spencer starts and then a sob tears its way free from his throat. "I told him. I told him and he was so angry, Frank."

"It's okay," Frank says even though he knows it's not. "We'll figure this out okay?"

Spencer says, "What if he never forgives me?"

Spencer sounds heartbroken and on the verge of tears and it's breaking Frank's own heart to hear him hurting so Frank says, "There's nothing to forgive, Spence. You didn't do anything wrong."

Spencer says, "I lied to him. That was wrong."

Frank says, "Come over. I'm leaving work right now. Come over and we'll talk and we'll find a way to fix it."

Spencer agrees and when Frank hangs up the phone, Gerard is standing behind him, a worried look on his face. "Is everything okay?" he asks.

"No, not really," Frank says running his hand through his hair. "Spencer told the teacher the truth about what he's doing there. His cover is kind of blown."

"I actually meant are you okay? Things looked pretty intense between Spencer and Mr. Walker before we lost the feed. I hope..." Gerard trails off lamely and shrugs his shoulders.

"Things are kind of fucked up right now," Frank says. "I need to go meet him so we can talk it through and figure some stuff out. I'll see you Monday, yeah?"

Gerard nods and when Frank passes him he wraps his hand around Frank's bicep and says, "I'm sorry, Frank."

Frank has no idea what he's apologizing for, but he has to go so he just says, "Yeah, thanks," before he's moving off down the hall.  
~~~

Spencer spends the entire weekend writing furiously. When he bothers to sleep, he does it on Frank's couch and when Monday morning dawns, he's gone before Frank gets out of bed.

Frank shows up a few minutes past eight o'clock even though he sped the entire way and ran two yellow lights. Spencer's car is in the parking lot, but Spencer isn't in his office when Frank passes by, so he goes directly to Gerard's office and is about to knock on the closed door when it opens and Spencer is standing in the door way looking wrinkled, exhausted and quite cranky.

"Hi," Frank says just as Spencer says, "You're both idiots. Complete and total idiots."

"Watch it, Smith," Gerard says from somewhere behind Spencer. "Just because you wrote a damn good story doesn't mean I won't fire you."

"I'm Frank's best friend," Spencer says with an amused smile on his face. "You wouldn't want to make him sad, would you?"

Frank's positive he's missed the joke and he's about to ask what the hell is going on when there's a quiet voice behind him that asks, "Does Spencer Smith work here?"

Frank turns around and finds a young boy who is pretty enough to pass for a girl. He's got brown hair and big eyes and he's tall and skinny. From behind Frank, Spencer says, "Ryan?"

The kid, Ryan apparently, leans to the side to see around Frank and says, "Spencer! I heard around school this morning that you worked here and I just... I didn't want you to leave without getting the chance to say goodbye."

Spencer smiles and looks genuinely touched as he scoots around Frank to pull Ryan in for a hug. When he releases him he turns to Frank and Gerard and says, "This is Ryan, one of my friends from school."

Frank bursts out laughing and Spencer glares at him. When he's done being amused (and seriously, Spencer in high school will never stop being funny) he says, "Nice to finally meet you Ryan. Spencer's mentioned you."

Spencer introduces Ryan to Gerard and once the introductions are done, Ryan says, "So, Mr. Walker didn't come to school today. There's all kinds of rumors floating around about him. Some people are saying he quit, other's that he got fired. I'm leaning more toward him just calling in sick. I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow."

Spencer pales noticeably and Frank runs a soothing hand over the small of his back. Spencer looks at Frank helplessly before Gerard says, "Why don't you take Ryan on a tour of the office, Spencer?"

Spencer looks grateful to have a task other than worrying, so he takes Ryan by the arm and nods. "Good idea. Come on," he says to Ryan. "I'll show you my office."

As soon as Spencer's out of ear shot Gerard grabs Frank's hand and drags him into his office. He walks over to his desk and picks up a stack of papers and shoves them at Frank.

"What's this?" Frank asks as he reads the title _Never Been Kissed_.

"It's Spencer's story. You should read it."

Frank gasps and sits on the edge of Gerard's desk and starts reading. When he's done, he's practically on the verge of tears. "It's amazing," he whispers.

Gerard surprises him by laughing and when he looks up Gerard says, "I'm going to run it in next weeks issue."

Frank smiles and says, "That's great! It really is wonderful and brave what he did there."

"He took a copy and left it on Jon's doorstep this morning, too. I'd say he's more than brave for doing that."

"Oh," Frank says. "I hope Jon can forgive him. Spencer is seriously crazy about that guy."

"Oh, my God," Gerard says, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Spencer's right. We're both complete idiots."

Frank doesn't really mind being called an idiot since it's usually true, but he doesn't remember doing anything particularly idiotic recently so he raises his eyebrow and says, "And why is that?"

"I thought you were in love with him," Gerard says.

Frank's eyes bug out of his head and he asks, "With Jon?"

"No," Gerard laughs. "With Spencer."

"With Spencer!" Frank says a little too loudly. "Are you fucking kidding me? That'd be like making out with my brother."

"That's why Spencer is right about us being idiots."

Frank gives Gerard and a dry look and retorts, "Well, I see how that makes _you_ an idiot, but I'm feeling wrongfully persecuted."

Gerard laughs and takes a few steps toward Frank. "Well, apparently you could have cleared all this up by telling me you like me."

Frank smirks and says, "Who says I do?"

Gerard steps closer until his face is a few inches from Frank's. "Well, Spencer for one."

Frank smiles up at Gerard and says, "Spencer is the worst best friend ever." He leans a fraction of an inch closer. "Are you going to kiss me now, or what," he whispers.

Gerard leans until there isn't any more space between them and Frank feels the firm press of his lips against Frank's own. Gerard's tongue slides delicately along the seam of Frank's mouth and he opens up, grants Gerard access as their tongues push and slide against each other.

Frank's heart is beating double time in his chest and he can hear the pounding in his ears. He's probably had better kisses in his life, but he can't remember when and he moans his approval into Gerard's mouth.

When they finally separate, Frank presses his forehead to Gerard's chest and says, "We could have been doing that for two years. We _are_ idiots."

Gerard laughs and says, "Maybe, or maybe we weren't ready until now."

Frank nods and kisses the corner of Gerard's mouth. "Let's make out some more, okay?"

Gerard doesn't say anything, just goes and turns the lock on the door.  
~~~

Before Frank can get Gerard much past second base, they are rudely interrupted by Frank's stomach. "Sorry," Frank says, laughing. "I skipped breakfast this morning."

Gerard picks his shirt up off one of the chairs and says, "Let's go to the lunch room and raid the fridge. Or, failing that, the vending machine."

"Sounds like a plan."

Spencer is eating lunch with Ryan and Brendon and Patrick at a table in the middle of the room. Frank and Gerard join them and Frank steals half of Spencer's sandwich. Spencer just waggles his eyebrows and looks between Frank and Gerard speculatively.

 

For the first time in his life, Frank doesn't want to talk about his sexual exploits and he blushes, actually _blushes_ much to Spencer's delight.

"Awesome," Spencer says happily.

The whole table starts talking about some reality show Frank's never seen but it sounds amusing. Everyone is laughing when suddenly Ryan says, "Oh. Man, wow."

The whole table follows his line of sight and collectively gasp when they see Jon Walker standing in the doorway scanning faces until his eyes fall on Spencer. He smiles unsteadily and takes a few steps into the room at the same time that Spencer pushes his chair back and moves away from the table toward Jon.

Frank watches and they meet in the middle of the room, mouths moving quietly. Spencer ducks his head and nods and Jon puts his hand against Spencer's cheek moving Spencer's face until their mouths line up perfectly and then Jon leans up and in and kisses Spencer right there in the middle of the break room.

All the tables start applauding and cat calling and Frank smiles and leans against Gerard. "This is kind of a perfect day," Frank says happily.

Across the table, Frank hears Brendon say, "Hey, you're kind of pretty for a boy."

Ryan looks like a rabbit on the run from a fox and he says, "Ummm... thanks?"

Brendon leans in and smiles lasciviously at Ryan, his finger trailing down the bare skin of Ryan's arm. Frank heaves a sigh and gets up and goes around the table, grabbing hold of Brendon's ear hard and pulling him up by it.

"Ow! What the hell," Brendon yelps.

"He's seventeen you pervert," Frank says. "Go, before I decide to write something else about you on the bathroom wall."

"I knew it was you!" Brendon shouts rubbing his ear. "I'll get you for this, Iero."

"Yeah, yeah," Frank says unconcerned. "I'm living in fear, man."

"I might actually have to write you up this time," Gerard says behind him, whispering in his ear.

"Are you kidding," Frank says. "I just saved an innocent child from acts of depravity. I should be praised, not punished."

"I meant for the defacement of the company's property," Gerard says.

Frank gives Gerard a smug look and says, "Whatever. Don't you know I'm untouchable? I'm sleeping with the boss."

"I don't think we've actually gotten to that part yet," Gerard says. "But with all this commotion, we probably have time to change that."

Frank looks around the room at the tables full of happy people, at Spencer and Jon still standing in the middle of the room, talking quietly between kisses and he winks conspiratorially at Gerard. "Your office or mine?"

Gerard tilts his head back and laughs and Frank grabs him by the hand and leads the way.


End file.
